Swagbucks

Thursday, June 16, 2011

It's Three for Thursday time AGAIN!! Oh My! Hosted again this week by Katy at The House of Estrogen It's been an exhausting week - here goes:

Three things I accomplished this week
1. I packed lots of boxes!
2. I took my kids to the park, more than once even.
3. I washed ALL of the laundry. All those sheets, blankets and towels that have been to the "I'll get around to it" pile are now clean and ready to be packed ;)

Three things I want to do this summer
1. Move to a new house
2. Go to my family reunion in July
3. Make some new friends, in my new neighborhood.

Three recipes
1. Alfredo sauce With an allergy to soy I cannot use most pre-made sauces, so I make my own.
2. Beef and Tomato Pie so simple and my kids love it. It's a great way to use up all of those fresh tomatoes in the summertime.
3. No Bake Cookies an old F.H.E. standby at our house, but always a crowd pleaser.

Three animals I'd like to have (maybe not all at the same time)
1. A nice cat
2. A friendly dog
3. Um, another baby?? (I don't like birds, fish, rodents, or reptiles.)

Three pictures

Since tomorrow is my Daddy's 60th birthday *gasp* and Sunday is Father's Day here is a picture of my Dad and I at the Red Canyon Overlook near Flaming Gorge in October of 2008 (it was cold and windy.) Another great Father in my life: My Father-in-law raised a good bunch of boys, his 5 sons are all pretty neat. I'm glad that I got to marry one of them! This is Oran, David (my Father-in-law) and me on Father's Day in 2009.
The Daddy at our house is pretty awesome too. Here's Ryan and our four boys on Easter morning 2011.

Friday, June 10, 2011

I know I'm a little late this week and it's more like a 'Five for Friday' kind of thing, but yesterday was kind of crazy! My husband had the day off so we spent the day packing boxes, running things to D.I. and grocery shopping.

So here it is, a little late, but just as fun! The Three for Thursday prompt this week comes from my good buddy Katy at thehouseofestrogen; Thanks Katy!!

Three favorite items of clothing:This one is hard 'cause I pretty much hate all of my clothing at the moment. (I'm feeling in need of a shopping spree!) But here goes:1. Down East Basics Tank Tops - high enough and long enough to fill any gaps. 2. My "size 8" jeans that are really more of a size 10, but that 8 on the tag helps me feel a little skinnier.3. my long navy blue skirt - nursing friendly and I can wear it with just about any top.

Three things in my house that I wish were self-cleaning:1. THE BATHROOM! With three little boys in the early years of toilet use and a fourth that will be there soon, a self-cleaning bathroom would be fabulous!2. The toy room, that place is always a disaster - I wish we had one of those "Cat in the Hat" machines that pick up all of the things that are down and puts them away.3. The kitchen floor - no matter how many times I sweep there always seems to be food on the floor!

Three favorite summertime lunches:1. Pasta Salad! It's cool and fresh2. BLTs - I love bacon and nothing beats fresh tomatoes out of the garden3. Hotdogs roasted on the grill with Doritos on the side.

Three things my children say that they picked up from me:1. "I'm Okay!" I used to ask "Are you okay?" every time it sounded like something "bad" happened, now they respond before I can even ask ;)2. "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!" Alright, I did steal this from Mr. Rodgers, but it is said whenever the sun is shining through the windows in the morning.3. "I'm gonna eat your squishies Mr. Chubby-Chunks!" when talking to the baby, of course.

Three inexpensive date night ideas1. Redbox, air-popped popcorn and snuggling on the couch (It gets old, but hey, it's something.) 2. A stroll around the block under the stars, you can walk REALLY slow!3. Who am I kidding? I never go on dates - You try getting a babysitter for four little boys!

Three places I'd like to visit:1. Florida: Disney World and Orlando Studios (I want to visit the Hogwarts Castle!)2. Europe (I know this is pretty open ended, but I want to see it all!)3. Brazil (My Daddy went on his mission their and in high school we had a foreign exchange student that I'd really like to visit. I miss you Zeila!)

Three good habits that I practice1. I brush my teeth every morning and every night!2. I wear deodorant everyday3. We end every day with a family prayer

Three pictures:I had lots of fun visiting with my Mother-in-law this evening. She came to town to visit her mother for her birthday and the boys and I went over to say hi. Here is a picture of my Mother and Father-in-law and their five sons.

OH NO! I'm being eaten by a dinosaur!! I guess I should have just let him have my golf ball if he wanted it so badly... (Playing miniature golf at Outer Limits Fun Zone.)

Zeila, my Brazilian sister, and Oran February of 2008, she came back to visit us, so it's only fair that I now go to Brazil and visit her, right??

Three of my favorite Pandora.com stations1. "Caranna's Radio" my first Pandora station, it's my own mix of the '80s, 90s, and now' and is the cure for any bad day. I just crank the tunes and before I know it I'm smiling and dancing. Ironically the first "seed" for this station was "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. 2. Disney, great for singing along, cleaning the house and keeping kids happy.3. Piano Music Radio, very relaxing, and there's nothing better to calm my crying baby.

Three lessons learned since I have graduated from high school1. I should listen to my parents, they really are pretty smart.2. I have my whole life to be married, college is for having fun.3. I am cooler than I thought I was.

Three people I was remembering on Memorial Day1. Grandma White2. Grandpa Stavast3. Auntie Judy

Three bad habits1. Staying up so late, there's really no reason to, and I know I'd be much happier if I would just go to bed!2. getting absorbed by facebook - is it really important that I know what is "on the mind" of a person I haven't physically spoken to since high school??3. Over reacting to my kids, um... bad choices. They are kids, they make mistakes, oh well.

Three foods I will NEVER put in my mouth1. Liver (it's meant to filter out all the garbage, why would I want to eat it!?)2. Beer 3. tripe

Three things that sounded like a good idea at the time1. Buying a home - buying a "fixer upper" was not a good idea, I found out that my husband is NOT Mr. Fix-it!2. Buying the smaller size, because I could put it on.3. Eating that *whatever* off the restaurant menu. (when will you learn that eating out makes you sick!! Food allergies are the pits!)Three plans for Father’s Day 20111. Go to Church2. Bake some Rolls3. Call my Daddy

Three things that make me a “mean mom” (aka a GOOD mom)1. Insisting they help me clean the house EVERYDAY ("But it's not even Saturday!")2. Have them take care of their own things - I am not the keeper of shoes, jackets and backpacks!3. Sticking to a schedule: ie. work, play, meals, bed.

Three picturesMy baby is crawling all over the place now. It's amazing how quick he's picked it up.

My handsome boys and I on Easter morning 2011

Since we're talking about Father's Day here is a picture of my silly Daddy.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

I haven't done much in the bloggo-sphere for quite a while. Who has the time!? But my friend Evelyn is an amazing bogger. So, a special thanks to Evelyn at Hanging by a Silver Lining for the Three for Thursday prompt. (I'd love to win one of her giveaways.)

Three favorite words:1. Exquisite - it's such a fancy word, and I like the way it feels in my mouth, go ahead, try it!2. Methinks - the best part of the Hymn "If You Could Hie to Kolob."3. Design - the way it is spelled, with it's silent "g" looks and feels artistic, it makes me want to create or design something myself.

Three things that won't be allowed in heaven:1. Hobo Spiders - after all the spider bites I got at our old house they'd better not be there!2. Hangnails - Ooo, I hate hangnails!3. Red Underwear - They're "Satan's Panties" (from Miss Congeniality)

Three crafty things I do: 1. Crochet- I can make just about anything, all I need is a pattern and enough yarn. 2. Sew- sadly the only sewing I've done for quite a while is patching the endless supply of worn out Levi's at our house, courtesy of my little boys. 3. Paint and Draw - I love painting, be it on paper, walls, wood, or even rocks, but I don't get many opportunities.

Three things I swore I would NEVER do when I became a parent, but now find myself doing:1. Let my kids watch more than a couple of house of TV a week. 2. Breastfeed beyond one year of age - some things just aren't worth the battle, they'll stop when they're ready. 3. Be the parent that never sets foot in their child's class room - I wanted to be the awesome Mom that was always there helping, that knew every kid's name - but with two younger ones at home and a husband who works full time, it's nearly impossible to find time to go in and help.

Three names I would never dream of giving my children:1. Floyd2. Ronald3. Shakira

Three things I plan to do for Memorial Day weekend:1. Visit the cemetery, tour Brady's Chapel and visit Grandpa Stavast's grave.2. Take a bunch of stuff to DI.3. Start the packing process!

Three blogs I love to visit:1. Make It and Love It I cannot get enough of her amazing craftiness!! Someday I want to be this cool ;) 2. Anne Pearson Photography I could look at her work for hours! She's absolutely AMAZING! It is my dream to have her do a photo shoot with our family. (I'm saving all my pennies ;) 3. Freebies 2 Deals I love getting a good deal and free is even better!!

Three things that make my husband/partner the luckiest man alive:1. I don't boss him around or nag like some wives do their husbands. My choice of husbandly persuasion is stormy silence. Thus far it has done little to provoke him into action. Maybe it's time to try nagging.2. He has 4 little boys who absolutely adore him and think he's the greatest guy around. 3. His wife is a good cook and does it everyday.

Three Pictures:This is the house we're planning to move to later this month. It's pretty exciting!

This is a card I made for my friend Christina when she had her first baby. It looks so much like her and makes me smile.

Here's an old one! This was taken on my Mom's birthday in July of 1986. I'm sitting on my Mom's lap.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I'm feeling a bit blessed today, and grateful that we remembered to say our prayers this morning!

On Ryan's way to work this morning he was passing a semi-truck. He was in the outside lane when the driver of the truck decided to pass the truck in front of him. He came into Ryan's lane forcing him into the median. Ryan said he almost rolled the car, but he's fine, the car is fine. He was just pretty shaken up for a while.

We are all very glad that he didn't get squashed by the big truck, and are happy that we didn't forget to pray for his safety as he traveled.

It's hard to have Ryan on the road everyday. I worry about his hour long commute in the winter when the roads are bad, but I don't often fear for his safety on days like today when the sun is shining and the roads are clear. You never know what the other drivers will do. So it's good that we continue to pray for him so he may be safe from harm even when the other drivers are being less than attentive.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

AHHHH!! I can't handle having Canton home two days in a row!! He has a cold so he stayed home from school yesterday, and doesn't go to school on Wednesdays - maybe I should just let him suffer, because the cold medicine makes him CRAZY!I laid down with the baby for 20 minutes and in that 20 minutes he and Oran got into the game closet and knocked down ALL of the games. There are cards, dice, and game pieces EVERYWHERE. They pulled all of the books off the book shelf. There are books all over the family room. Canton sprayed hairspray all over the bathroom mirror.Someone took colored pencils and drew on the walls in the stair well - ALL the way down the stairs on BOTH sides! AND on the walls in the basement. Toys are all over the toy room. The boy's bedroom is a mess. The kitchen sink is over flowing with dirty dishes. I'm buried in laundry.

EVERY single room in my house is a disaster right now >:( [This is my Angry face.]

Friday, March 25, 2011

Today is the last day of our Spring Break vacation and our second snowy day this week. For Spring Break activities my kids have built a snowman and gone sledding. (Both in our backyard) We've had sick kids, so we've stayed home all week.

Skyler has had a tough time with this cold. Wednesday night was really rough. He coughed all night (from midnight - 5am) he couldn't sleep so neither did I. I couldn't alleviate his coughs and they just wouldn't let up. He threw up again and again, because of the coughing, and had a dry diaper in the morning, very unusual for him. (So I was afraid he was getting dehydrated)

I took him to the Doctor yesterday who said Skyler had an RSV virus and a little bit of bacterial pneumonia. However the doctor said it seemed to be clearing up. I told him that Skyler's been fighting it for a little over 2 weeks and he said it's typical for RSV to hold on for a month or more.

Dr. Clifford said that they can't really do much for anyone under the age of 2. He suggested we use a humidifier, suction him out good with the bulb syringe, and prop him up to sleep; all things we've already been doing. So basically, just 'hang in there.' It's so sad, he doesn't have a voice right now and makes sad little squeaky noises. :(

However, I told Dr. Clifford that Canton and Oran had the bad coughs too and he did give me something for them; Flonase nasal spray. We gave them each a squirt in each nostril before bed and I heard very little coughing from their room last night. So my visit to the doctor wasn't a total loss.

Ryan had yesterday off work. We'd planned to go somewhere and do something fun, but it didn't work out that way. However, he and the boys stayed in the PJs 'til 1:00 watching movies and playing board games. They played 3 different games, and the boys thought it was great!

Around 5:00 the rain finally stopped and Ryan took the boys out front and watched them ride their bikes while I made dinner. (Ryan's co-worker was getting rid of 2 boys bikes and Ryan brought them home. He got one fixed up for Canton's birthday, in August, and just recently finished fixing up the other one for Tate. I picked up a really little bike, for Oran, at DI - the boys aren't happy that it's pink, but it was only $3 and Oran has fun riding it, we thought we might paint it another color.)

It was kind of fun to have the windows open for a minute, listening to three bikes with training wheels rattling across the pavement, accompanied by the sound of happy kids.

Friday, January 21, 2011

We did lots of fun things for Christmas. The annual Dunn Family Christmas Party was on December 18, we had a Family Dinner on Christmas Eve at my Aunt's house. We had a yummy dinner with Prime Rib, rolls, twice baked potatoes, green beans with almonds and bacon, and a yummy salad. It's the best Birthday dinner Ryan's had in years!

Ryan's brother Neil came over on Christmas Eve and helped us get everything wrapped and set for the morning.

Tate got to be "Santa's Helper" this year, which means he got to wear a Santa hat, read the gift tags and bring everyone their gifts.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Idaho State Journal is holding a "Cutest Baby Born in 2010" contest, and since I happen to have a baby who was born in 2010, I entered. There were 219 entries, and SO many cute babies!! The winner gets a gift basket full of goodies from local businesses. So join the fun and go vote!!

Monday, January 10, 2011

From the time I was very small I drew pictures and made up stories. Hoping to someday share them with others. I wrote for my high school newspaper and actually got an article published in the Herald Journal in Logan, UT - giving me my first taste of publication.

But as time has worn on other things have filled my time - my dream of writing continually gets pushed back and put aside, but recently I've felt the need to create!

I have a few friends who have been bitten by the writing bug as well. Laci, a girl I went to high school with, is now working with an editor that works for a, REAL publisher to complete her novel. My friend Kim recently had some short stories published. And I just read on my cousin's wife, Ranee's, blog that she has recently completed the fourth book for her series and is in the 'final editing stage' for her first one.

I can't help but feel I'm being left behind!

I came up with a story idea and sat down to write. I've only written 3 chapters in the past week, but I happen to think it's pretty good. I read it to my kids, as a bedtime story. They are excited and enthralled and can't wait to see what happens next. So I was feeling pretty good about myself.

Then the man who lives at my house, who shall remain nameless, read it, without asking me first. He pointed out all of it's flaws, and didn't have any complements for me. So now I am feeling discouraged. I don't know if I should continue with this story or just abandon it and start over.

This man said that 'my writing style is too formal,' and that I need some practice so I can 'find my groove.' But I was practicing!! Maybe that's why you should never let people see you Works in Progress!

About Me

I am a mother of five energetic little boys. They keep me very busy, but every day is a new adventure. It's fun to watch them learn and grow. Viewing the world through their eyes has helped me re-discover the joy of childhood.

Ryan and Caranna

It's hard to believe that we've already been married for ten years. Time goes by so quickly! We have both grown so much in that time. We are so happy and the best of friends.

Tate

Tate is "Monkey Number One" according to his Dad. He is 8 years old and our little thinker. Tate loves being in the GATE (gifted and talented education) program and enjoys cub scouts. He is a wonderful artist and loves to draw pictures and read the scriptures. He's a happy littler 3rd grader and we love having him at our house.

Canton

Canton is our second born. He has more energy than the rest of us put together. He loves to explore and discover the world around him. He is so funny! He has a great imagination and is constantly making us laugh with his ever developing since of humor. He's in 2nd grade. He's learning new things everyday and loves sharing his new knowledge with anyone who will listen. He loves to invent and is always sharing ideas for his next big invention.

Oran

Our third little boy is growing up so fast! He's 5 years old and in kindergarten. He love to read and draw pictures. He's always making "books." He likes to play video games and is a little obsessed with The Legand of Zelda and Super Mario Brothers. His brothers are his best friends and they have fun creating new adventures. We love him lots, he's such a fun boy!

Skyler

Is our fourth little guy. He is so much fun! He had such a fun personality. Skyler is constantly making us laugh with the things that come out of his mouth! He loves his brothers and anxiously waits for them to return home from school each day. He likes watching "Caillou" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" on PBS. As long as he can watch his 2 shows everyday he's a happy camper. He likes helping and always asks if he can vacuum.

Briar

Five boys - oh my! Briar joined our family in December of 2012 . He is such a sweet little guy. We all think he is pretty neat and look forward to getting to know him better as we watch him learn and grow!